“Flow” reviewed by chaindlk

Cronica is back with a couple of releases, a better exposure and the usual good quality of their outputs just to say that if you haven’t noticed that, Portugal like Spain is an epicentre for what concerns electronic music nowadays. As you can see from their back catalogue Cronica is not one of those label into “easy electronic” at every coast, but more 360° oriented and this cd is the proof of it all. Vitor Joaquim pushes on the pedal of experimental/abstract electronic music and the result is probably closer to sound art than to ordinary electronic recording. Cold inexpressive music right from the first intentions, Joaquim put every single layer trying to define gradually every chapter. A profusion of resonators, high frequencies and glitchy beats and synthesized vocals (be it a vocoder or a laptop) but the record is really tight and compact sound wise. “Flow” comes out from that experimental electronic music that floats nowhere in the middle of contemporary electronic research post Stockhausen and isolationism a-la late eighties early nineties. Probably it’s just me but the closest reference that came to my mind was Main above all when the band post-Loop was completely lost in abstraction. This cd feature an interesting clip with which the music of Joaquim gets along really well, it’s a soft and simple computer work but it has a strange manga atmosphere while the global watching is stoning.

Andrea Ferraris

“Flow” reviewed by Bad Alchemy

Flow (Crónica 025 + quicktime video) bringt ein Wiederhören mit VITOR JOAQUIM, einem der maßgebenden Köpfe der portugiesischen Electronica, der schon einmal mit A Rose is a Rose (dOc recordings) meine Schwurbelmaschine angeworfen hat (BA 45). In dicht verschlungener Mehrspurigkeit lässt er jeweils mit ganz unterschiedlichen Geschwindigkeiten langschweifige und kurzwellige Pulsfrequenzen ineinander rotieren, dunkle Tupfer und helles Klingeln, durchschossen von Plops, von sirrenden und wabernden Linien durchbrochen. Mit verblüffenden, hoch komplexen Ergebnissen. In achtfacher Beleuchtung, Joaquim nennt es ‚Momente‘ – ‚Moments of Skin‘, ‚Thinking Moments‘, ‚Moments of Silence‘ – , kreist er um die Konfrontation von Computer und menschlicher Stimme, von programmierten Beat-Noise-Collagen und menschlicher Gefühlswelt. Immer wieder hört man Atemzüge oder Satzfetzen von Filipa Hora, die wie aus einem hohlen Metallfass heraus hallen – …i think you‘re getting so close…this is so dangerous, this intimacy, i think… i think i don‘t want not to be close etc. Dieser hohle Vocoderklang irritiert mich lange als Déjà vu, bis ich endlich auf Laurie Anderson komme, bei der mir dieser Verfremdungseffekt schon einmal ähnlich unter die Haut gegangen war. Dazu blinken an bestimmten Stellen melancholische Gitarren, bei ‚Moments of Emptiness‘ in tristen Endlosrillenloops. Und Hora haucht und stottert ihr verzerrtes „close“, „think“ und „silence“. Aber I-I-I und w-w-w-e-e zerflattern im malenden und häckselnden Computermix. Joaquim ist ein Experte für die Mechanik des Herzens, für den Geist in der Maschine. Mit Flow sind ihm Momente von außergewöhnlicher Intensität gelungen. Das Flow-Video von Lia, dessen Ästhetik schon das Coverdesign andeutet, besticht in perfekter Synchronität mit Joaquims Sounds durch teils kristalline, teils organische, an Seeanemonen erinnernde Wucherungen in Schwarzweiß, mit momentan aufblühenden Rottönen.

“Flow” reviewed by D-Side

Compositeur ayant beaucoup oeuvré dans le cadre d’événements culturels à Lisbonne, mais aussi de ballets, le Portugais Vitor Joaquim est aussi depuis quelques années, actif dans le champ de la musique électronique, qu’il ne cesse finalement de remettre en question, comme si son passé imposait une présence humaine à confronter aux machines. Pour Flow, c’est ainsi la voix qui s’invite au premier plan, plus précisément celle de Filipa Hora, mais aussi des guitares, qui viennent rappeler que tout instrument est valide. construit comme une suit de moments (les titres de l’album comportent d’ailleurs tous le mot “moment”), Flow est un parcours homogéne, sinueux et cabossé, où l’on se laisse guider avec plaisir jusqu’à la vidéo abstraite de “Flow”, conclusion rêvée du voyage.

Jean François Micard

“Flow” reviewed by Loop

This is a well-known Portuguese electronic musician who started as a music improviser in 1982.

He works in many art forms such as video, musical compositions for cinema, dance, theatre, installalations and multimedia.

His works has been released in several labels such as Crónica Electrónica, dOc, Ananana and he has composed the piece ‘Sensations Maker’ comprised on a series of three CD-ROM’s published for Expo 98 that took place in Lisbon. He also has made several appearances in compilations on Crónica, Portuguese and now based in Canada Tomané Vinagreiro’s antmanuvMicro, Argentine’s Fuga Discos and Galician Alg-a netlabel.

“Flow” is presented with an amazing and abstract artwork by Austrian’s Lia, the own Joaquim and Miguel Carvalhais [member of @C along with Pedro Tudela].

The rippled dance wings express their different colors on the video made by Lia that comes with this CD.

Joaquim through his laptop confront glitches, micro electronic and hum with the processed voice of Filipa Hora. Also this confrontation lets glimpse a disquieting prose of Hora who express his fear by a possible danger on the intimacy and therefore she avoids that somebody approaches her and at the end she asks for silence….

After this communication between the machine and the synthetic voice, repetitive and mechanical sounds conformed by textures that contain noises; static and micro digital errors.

Guillermo Escudero

“Flow” reviewed by chaindlk.com

Portuguese multimedia artist Vitor Joaquim has traced a singular path over the last 25 years starting with improvised music in 1982 and then composing for dance, theater, cinema, video, installations and multimedia. “Flow” is his latest work on the Crónica label. The main concept here is the confrontation between voice and computer and in almost all the tracks we can find heavily processed breathings and whispers among the swarming layers of processed instruments or even a sensual female voice(Filipa Hora’s) as in the second track. Ranging from dissonant glitch to languid and dreamlike sounds with bursts of high-speed grainy loops – “Flow” is a complex work, only sometimes indulging in melodic moments. A fresh update to Markus Popp’s lesson and surely a perfect listening for the autumn and winter to come.

Andrea Vercesi

“Flow” reviewed by Phosphor

Each song title of Vitor Joaquim’s latest album contains the word “moments”. The concept of Flow is the possibilities and impossibilities of relationships. A concept that is difficult to translate or incorporate by means of electronics. But the spoken texts by Filipa Hora make up for this.

Vitor Joaquim’s music is built upon abstract, relatively high-pitched digital sequences. A substantial part of the music really sounds digitalized and computerized, accentuating an artificial modernism. Or as the artist puts it himself: all the ideosyncrasics of bare-naked human expression, altered, expanded and processed beyond it’s own flesh and blood.” Nevertheless the music is never fake, nor boring. Listening to these moments makes fun, the’re excellent.

“Flow” reviewed by Big Load

Eine akademisch leicht angetrocknete Beschreibung des “Flow” geht von einer optimalen Herausforderung an das Wissen und Können eines Menschen und seiner damit einhergehenden Absorption in der Tätigkeit, oft mit erhöhtem Lebensgefühl verbunden, aus. Umgelegt auf die Rezeption (oder auch Erzeugung) von Musik, würde ich meinen, dass es sich um einen Idealzustand zwischen Kontemplation und Herausforderung, einem Kratzen am Unbekannten, beispielsweise in der Improvisation, aus dem sicheren Hafen des Erlernten, Verinnerlichten, handelt. Im konkreten Fall vorliegender Veröffentlichungen des verdienten portugiesischen Labels Crónica stellt Vitor Joaquim die menschliche Stimme, hier jene von Labelkollegin Filipa Hora, in ihrer Ausdruckskraft durch den Computer erweitert, oft in einer unentscheidbaren Superposition zwischen beunruhigend und wunderschön oszillierend, der digitalen Reizüberflutung elektronischer Möglichkeiten gegenüber. Diesen digitalen Fluss, besser dessen unzählige Nebenarme, lässt Joaquim wie unter Spannung vibrieren – paust, beschleunigt, überfordert – und immer wieder verstottern; im Extremfall bis, wie in “Thinking Moments”, die Stimme nur noch ein Hauchen ist, während die Musik graduell entschwindet, oder, wie im abschließenden “Misleading Moments”, vollkommener Stille Platz macht. Solcher technischen Ãœberhöhung gegenüber nimmt sich der Beitrag von Filipa Hora schon fast unangenehm intim aus, erreicht durch ihre dringliche Nähe aber auch unglaublich viel Atmosphäre und erinnert bestens an Arbeiten von AGF (Antye Greie-Fuchs). “Flow” meint hier demnach keine verträumt-ambiente Klangtapentenmalerei, sondern ein instinktiv angewandtes Landschaftsgärtnern mit Bewusstseinsströmen – was auf ganz außergewöhnliche Weise gelingt und eine ernsthafte Empfehlung allemal wert ist.

“The Wayward Regional Transmissions” reviewed by De:Bug

In der Welt des digital-arabischen Stakkatodrones ist Slavin nach wie vor ungeschlagen. Das demonstriert diese CD in höchst komplex variabler Form erneut mehr als deutlich. Musik die sich gelegentlich anhört wie Oval aus Jericho, oder Glitch für Marrakesch. Ich bin jedenfalls vom ersten Track an völlig eingenommen. Perfekt um sich einen völlig eigenen Horizont der Welt zu bauen.

“The Wayward Regional Transmissions” reviewed by Vital Weekly

The first time we got introduced to the music of Ran Slavin was on his ‘Product 02’ CD release for the very same label that now releases ‘The Wayward Regional Transmissions’. Slavin hails from Israel, where he produces digital music, experimental cinema and video art. On his latest CD he approaches ‘Oriental Middle Eastern Music with Abstract Glitch’ and to this end he uses in some pieces the BulbulTarang, a three steel string Indian instrument played by Ahuva Ozeri, who was the first female star of Mizrahit music. Another piece uses the Ud, played by Moshe Eliahu. It may seem an odd mixture at work here, but in fact the opposite is true. The minimal patterns played on the traditional instruments mingle quite nicely with the electronic music of Slavin, which is not always glitch like. He employs rhythm through rhythm machines, which he processes by digital means. Of course the hotbed of cracks, hiss, static and such like is present, to make sure that this is the world of glitch.

There is however something quite warm about this CD, almost like a lazy tropical afternoon, such as in ‘Jericho 6AM’ (although the title suggest a different time). The music is not unlike that of Thilges, who have been working on this kind of merging of western digital techniques and middle eastern instruments. This CD fits quite nice the Cronica label, who have been before bringing special themes to the world of glitch and not being an ordinary label for ordinary glitch. Slavin’s disc works with traditional approaches, both in computer music and in oriental music but the combination thereof is quite new. Very nice work.

FdW

“The Wayward Regional Transmissions” reviewed by Basebog

Fin dai suoi primi lavori Ran Slavin era intensamente legato alla sua terra. Memorabile il suo contributo nel corale ‘Walking In Jerusalem’ di Random Inc/Sebastian Meissner insieme ad Electric Birds e Tim Hecker per Mille Plateux. E ancor più nell’edizione sperimentale sempre di Mille Plateux delle raccolte di ‘Intifada Offspring’ insieme ad altri artisti israeliani. Ran Slavin è un artista contemporaneo che lavora e sperimenta con il suono, grazie al quale ricrea scenari di alterazione di notevole intensità e originalità. Il materiale alla base di questo ultimo disco sono le registrazioni di musicisti folk strappate ai quartieri dei Territori e combinate con altri suoni ‘sincretici’ dell’ambiente metropolitano (ambienti e voci). L’autore si è accostato alla chitarra da quattordicenne, mentre ora elabora il video e l’audio con patch sviluppate da lui stesso. Tutto digitale quindi, fatta eccezione per l’intervento dello strano strumento detto Bulbultarang, interpretato da Ahura Ozerri.

‘Hagalil’ è una traccia di loop e piccoli intarsi. ‘Village’ e ‘Jericho 6AM’ seguono il discorso elaborato da una chitarra accelerata, mentre altre corde si intrecciano in una fitta tessitura. Altrove, come in ‘Wayward initial’ è un basso pesante e profondo a scatenare il lirismo emotivo. Ran Slavin ha il merito di essere grezzo ed elegante al tempo stesso: la manipolazione esprime un’estetica originalissima e si produce anche dalla scelta di campioni ambientali sporchi (o sporcati) con gusto personale. Sono forse sogni, riverberati, che riportano l’eco di melodie rese familiari al lontano mondo urbano grazie agli artifici di un abile distorsore. Batteria irregolare ma originale in ‘Shelters and Peace’ e ‘Silence’, dove il ritmo è somministrato senza pudori. E’ forse nel ‘Kiosk in Furadis’ che una filastrocca con solista e coro femminili diventa quasi dnb. Tanti interventi di voci che mutano timbro, cantano talvolta sommessamente, e si accalcano o dilatano. Ne risulta un blues confuso, una babele piena di eccezioni.

Il concept dell’album è forte a monte e i suoni sembrano voler rappresentare uno spazio fisico già riprodotto nelle vedute aeree del pack. Per questo il paragone con musicisti della stessa senbilità (Philip Jeck and Janek Schaefer per primi) rende un’idea di massima ma non esaurisce l’ampio discorso di Ran Slavin. In un’intervista, definisce lo stile di questo suo disco ‘oriental abstract spiritual music’. Sempre quest’anno Mille Plateux gli ha pubblicato la terza versione del progetto inizialmente commissionato dalla Biennale di Venezia ’04 “Insomniac City”. Si tratta di una meditazione sulle conseguenze estreme della vita urbana contemporanea ed è disponibile come doppio dvd PAL-NTSC e come CD con la colonna sonora. “The Wayward Regional Transmissions” ricorda nel nome le tracce da ‘radio pirata’ pubblicate dall’autore nel 2002, ed esprime la naturale evoluzione di una preziosa sensibilità artistica: elettronica da esplorazione, bella, dentro il presente e pure intelligente.